Library Science Jeopardy

I always enjoy the Fun Zone in the PALINET weekly newsletter. Yesterday it shared a link to the Library Science Jeopardy. Since I don't have a degree in Library Science (my background is in training), I learned quite a bit by trying out some of these. Go ahead, give it a try!

The Last Lecture

If you haven't heard about Randy Pausch yet, you NEED to check out his site. He's a professor at Carnegie Mellon who is fighting pancreatic cancer. I first heard about him in PARADE magazine a few weeks ago. I have been watching his Last Lecture during my lunch hours for the past 2 weeks below. Seriously, you will be changed if you watch this. His positive energy is infectious.



You can find his book here.

Meme: Passion Quilt

Seems Lori Reed has tagged me to be a part of the Passion Quilt Meme. Don't know what a meme is - read this.

The rules are simple:

1. Think about what you are passionate about teaching your students.
2. Post a picture from a source like FlickrCC or Flickr Creative Commons or make/take your own that captures what YOU are most passionate about for kids to learn about…and give your picture a short title.
3. Title your blog post “Meme: Passion Quilt” and link back to this blog entry.
4. Include links to 5 folks in your professional learning network or whom you follow on Twitter/Pownce.

For me, staying positive is SO important to life and learning. As corny and touchy-feely as they are, I'm a big user of affirmations. Seems my nature is to be negative, so I make it my daily personal goal to do all I can to counteract that part of me. Here's an image I found on flickrCC when doing a search on "think positive". Sums it up nicely:

Okay, so I tag (and you may already have been tagged this late in the game):

• Greg Schwartz
• Stacey Rae Brownlie
• Steve Campion
• Anne Christensen
• Andy Morton
  

p.s. origin of the passion quilt meme here

p.p.s. origin of the meme in the biblioblogosphere here

Bloomin' Ideas Workshops

Here is an upcoming continuing ed workshop for Commonwealth Libraries where I will be one of the presenters. Hope you can sign up to attend one of these!

“Bloomin’ Ideas”

DATES
Wednesday, May 28, 2008 Hershey Public Library
Thursday, May 29, 2008 PaTTAN, King of Prussia
Tuesday, June 3, 2008 PaTTAN, Pittsburgh
Wednesday, June 4, 2008 Clarion University
Tuesday, June 10, 2008 PA College of Technology (Williamsport)

AGENDA
Registration 8:30 - 9:00
Welcome/Introductions 9:00 - 9:30
Web 2.0 for Libraries 9:30 -10:30
Break 10:30 - 10:45
Working with Boards 10:45 - 11:15
PR & Marketing your Library 11:15 - 11:45
Lunch 11:45 - 12:30
1st Brainstorming/Networking Session 12:30 - 1:15
Sharing information from 1st Session 1:15 - 1:40
2nd Brainstorming/Networking Session 1:40 - 2:15
Sharing information from 2nd Session 2:15 - 2:35
Composing Action Plans 2:35 - 3:15

PRESENTERS

Web 2.0
Stephanie Zimmerman, Library System of Lancaster County

Working with Boards
Cathi Alloway, Dauphin County Library System (Hershey & Pittsburgh Locations)
Julie Rinehart, Berks County Public Libraries (King of Prussia, Clarion, and Williamsport)

Programs, Promotion and PR
Bonnie Young, Office of Commonwealth Libraries (Hershey, King Of Prussia, Pittsburgh, and Clarion)
Diana Megdad, Office of Commonwealth Libraries (Williamsport)

Is your mind reeling with questions?

What is Web 2.0 and what impact will it have on my library, my patrons, and my staff? How do I know what to ask? Will policies need to be rewritten or formulated?

How can I have a better relationship with my Board of Trustees, and the Friends of the Library Board? What should I be doing to build a relationship with local governmental boards?

Why are programs so important to promoting my library? How can I use promotion to emphasize the value of my library to the community?

Cost – Free!!!

Designed for District Consultants, Directors, Public Relations Staff, or any staff interested in learning and sharing knowledge and ideas.

Name/Title ____________________________________________

E-Mail ________________________________________________

Phone ________________________________________________

Library _______________________________________________

Location _________________________________________________

Please forward your registration form and a brief concern, story, idea, success, non-success you’d like the presenters to address to Anne Kruger akruger@state.pa.us Feel free to forward this to any staff members.

Cultivating a Culture of Learning in the Library

Another great webinar from WebJunction. And what a great presenter: Lori Reed, Training Specialist for the Public Library of Charlotte & Mecklenburg County. Lori and I met through Social Networking and attending webinars where we "found" each other. I have learned so much from her - now you can too!

Here are the details:

"Cultivating a Culture of Learning in the Library
6/10/08 11 AM - 12 PM PT / 2 - 3 PM ET

How much time does your library spend on "training?" Statistics show that most learning takes place on the job or with a coworker, yet as trainers we spend an inordinate amount of time preparing for and delivering classroom training. In this webinar you will learn why you need to get your staff out of the classroom and instead focus on creating a culture of learning in your library.

We will explore:

* The differences between training and learning
* The benefits to libraries for creating a culture of learning
* The key elements of a learning organization
* Tips for creating a culture of learning in any size library"

I unfortunately will have to listen to the archive as I'll be presenting Web2.0 for Libraries at a Bloomin' Ideas workshop in Williamsport PA that day sponsored by PA Commonwealth Libraries.

Computacion Basica Curriculum for Spanish Speakers

WOW - WOW - WOW!!!

Please take the time to read what was done in Staten Island NY. They developed a family-friendly series of computer basics classes for Spanish speakers. Heck, you could do this in English too. It's such a great idea combining classes for the adults with crafts and fun for the kids at the same time. Read THE DISCUSSION and then download the RESOURCES. It's all been done for you!

Innovative Health Info Programs for Spanish Speakers

WebJunction is offering another great webinar:

Event Type: Spanish Outreach Webinar Date: 5/13/2008 Start Time: 12:00 PM (Central) 1:00pm (Eastern) End Time: 1:00 PM (Central) 2:00pm (Eastern) Description: Learn about several innovative programs designed to increase access to health information for Spanish speakers and increase community health. Guest speakers include: Susan Dalmas, manager of Queens Library/ Adult Learner Program; Kathel Dunn, Associate Director of the National Network of Libraries of Medicine, Middle Atlantic Region; and Loida Garcia-Febo, Assistant Coordinator, Special Services, Queens Library. For details about this month's topic and other information on past or future webinar sessions, visit: Spanish Outreach In Depth Webinars. Location: Central Time Registration Ends: 5/13/2008 at 11:00 AM Other Information: All event times listed are CENTRAL TIME ZONE and please, INCLUDE YOUR EMAIL when you register. Contact: spanishoutreach@webjunction.org Link: Instructions on joining webinar Status: Openings

Dewey or Do We Not?

So, what do you think? Dewey or BISAC? Watch this video and let me know what you think by leaving a comment.

Developing a Spanish Language Collection

FREE workshop and not that far away. Here are the details from BlogJunction:

The REFORMA DC Metro Area Chapter, in conjunction with the Montgomery County Public Libraries, WebJunction, and the Maryland State Department of Education’s Division of Library Development & Services is offering a FREE one-day workshop, “If You Build It, Will They Come?: Expert Tips for Developing Spanish Language Collections.” Speakers include Dr. Camila Alire, Elissa Miller, and Betty Valdés.

When: Monday, May 5, 2008 (Cinco de Mayo)
Where: Rockville Library, Montgomery County Public Library

Registration is free but seats are limited so register fast!

Happy National Library Workers Day

See this site for more information. It states:
"NLWD is a day for library staff, users, administrators and Friends groups to recognize the valuable contributions made by all library workers."

To honor all library workers I offer you this:

ALA Gets Hip to Celebrate NLW!

I have to say I'm impressed with this YouTube video from ALA to celebrate National Library Week 4/13-4/19. Kudos to ANY reference librarian - I'm sure you've heard it all as this video clearly demonstrates. Made me chuckle:

Happiness in a Troubled World

Feel like the world is just a little more depressing lately? What with war, "recession" and the like, it can bring a person down if you let it. I try to stay on the positive side of life and not get too wrapped up in the negatives. So, when I stumbled on this link in my twitter stream, I just had to share it with all of you. See Improv Everywhere turn a little league baseball game in Hermosa Beach CA into a major league event. WATCH THIS and you'll probably smile the rest of the day!

Ways to Deal with Email Overload

We all suffer from email overload. Here are some of the popular ways of dealing with your overflowing inbox: Five Methodologies to Deal with Email Overload from ReadWriteWeb.

Techsoup Staff Becomes Daily Soup Famous

Last week I wrote about a congressional hearing focusing on virtual worlds (See post Online Virtual Worlds: Applications and Avatars in a User-Generated Medium) Turns out Susan Tenby, Techsoup's Senior Manager of Online Community Development, testified at the hearing (I'm a big fan of the Techsoup site). What do you know, the evening of 4/7/08 she became a part of a story on The Daily Show. Read all about it and watch the VERY funny video here.

Captain Kirk Should've Been a Librarian

I love the video links that come in my weekly PALINET newsletter:

Online Virtual Worlds: Applications and Avatars in a User-Generated Medium

Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet
Tuesday, April 1, 2008, 9:30 a.m.
2123 Rayburn House Office Building

This was a hearing held yesterday for the Congress' Committee on Energy and Commerce.
I've only listened to the opening of this, but it shows how relevant Web2.0 is and gives an excellent explanation of Virtual Worlds. I hope to finish it at some point. Unfortunately it's only available as a .wmv file, so I can't download an mp3 or anything. Makes it harder for me to have time to listen, but it sounds very good.

Go HERE for the archived file.

Amazing Finds

Just some tidbits I have been saving up that are really quite amazing...

First, flying penguins are caught on film for the first time ever!



A new Google Search tool can see into the future.

TODAY only, you will find a special video when clicking any featured video in the list on YouTube. Be sure to check it out! (Do you know the meaning of rickroll?)

Be sure to check out the Election Deathmatch Coverage.

Finally, a Betamax to HD-DVD converter, something I've been waiting for for years.

Google and Virgin Media have joined forces with Vir-gle. You can now join the ranks of those planning to travel to Mars. I will definitely be one of the first to add my name!

Lastly, be on time everytime with Google Custom Time. This will really come in handy!

A special thank you to this site for sharing all of this breaking news with me!